Overland

If you’re looking for adventure, an opportunity to travel with like-minded travellers and to get off the beaten track then this type of trip is for you! We will sometimes be covering long distances over a period of a few days but will then most often be camped up for a few days with opportunities for adventure activities, visiting local communities, time in a town or city to chill out or wildlife viewing experiences. The roads are sometimes bumpy and you need to expect the unexpected! This type of travel is through regions where things can change and experiences are more important than luxury – borders sometimes close and there may not always be hot water in the showers! You will generally be camping out under the stars, sometimes out in the bush, but generally more on campsites. (Our South America and Central Asia trips also use small locally-run hostels and guest houses). The trips are fully participative so you will be involved shopping for food in local markets, cooking for your group (on a rota system), collecting water and setting up camp. If you’re not confident about doing any of these things beforehand, don’t worry our crew are there to help you and you’ll be good at it by the time you finish!

You will be travelling on one of our own purpose built overlanding vehicles with up to 24 travellers, many of whom will be travelling on their own. It is a great way for solo travellers to travel. We have lost count of the number of travellers who have met their future spouse on one of our trips! Our vehicles are fully equipped with tents and cooking equipment and are designed for great all-round viewing and a sociable seating plan. You will be accompanied on your trip by a Driver and Tour Leader and, depending on your trip, we often use local guides at sites of specific interest for more detailed information.

This type of travel will provide you with a plethora of memories and stories to tell, new-found travelling companions and friends and a well-exercised spirit of adventure!

Responsible tourism

Cape Town to Johannesburg 17 day tour

Carbon reduction

Your holiday will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this holiday and how to reduce them.

Environment

Water: Before commencing one of our tours travellers are sent detailed pre-departure information which includes advice on using water sparingly. We recognise water to be one of the world's most precious commodities, particularly, in some of the areas this trip travels through. Due to the camping nature of this trip we carry a lot of our water for cooking, drinking and washing with us. Filling up heavy jerry cans, we find, helps focus the mind on the importance of water conservation!We also encourage our travellers to bring reusable water bottles from home with them for the trip. These can be filled from the truck's water supplies. This helps to minimise the usage of plastic water bottles.

Waste: at the point of booking a tour with us, all our travellers receive detailed pre-departure information which contains a large section on travelling responsibly. This includes advice on minimising the amount of waste they create on the trip. This informs travellers on what they can do before they go, for example removing toiletries from unnecessary packaging and taking a reusable water bottle and gives advice on what they should do whilst on the tour, for example, disposing of litter appropriately.

Roughly, half the nights on this tour are spent camping and we purchase our tents locally, thereby further supporting the local economy and employment. Sleeping under canvas obviously has a low environmental impact and brings you closer to nature. Lights and aircon cannot be left on unnecessarily!

Community

As with all our Tours we generally stay at small, locally run guest houses and camp sites on this trip, many of which share our Company ethos of supporting local communities. Malealea Lodge in Lesotho, for example, invites local choirs and bands in to share performances with Lodge guests every evening. Guests are invited to make a donation to the performers.

In Cintsa, the Lodge we stay at will help you volunteer at the local, community run, soup kitchen. You will help prepare and serve food to local children (mainly) who are left alone while their parents are working. Often there are more than 50 enthusiastic, hungry children that attend! A local guide will collect you and take you back to the Lodge. En route you will often visit his friends and neighbours in the local community - a young widow for example,, who brews her own beer at home in order to support her family. Be prepared to be taught and practise the local language during your tour.